Congratulations to Manuel Ramirez for receiving a Meritorious Abstract Award
Manuel Ramirez (Health Area) received a Meritorious Abstract Award for his upcoming talk titled “Does activism buffer against the negative effects of discrimination on distress and alcohol use among LGBT persons of color?” at the Society of Behavioral Medicine Annual Meeting.
Congratulations to Manuel Ramirez for being accepted to the Society for Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine Inclusivity for Impact, Equity, and Engagement (I2EyE) Scholar Cohort Program
Manuel Ramirez (Health Area) was accepted to the Society for Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine Inclusivity for Impact, Equity, and Engagement (I2EyE) Scholar Cohort Program.
Congratulations to Eric D. Cortez for receiving an LGBT Health Scholar Award from the Society for Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine
Eric D. Cortez (Health Area) received an LGBT Health Scholar Award from the Society for Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine for his poster titled “Intersectional Discrimination and Mental Health Among Sexual Minority Men of Color: Ethnic Identity as a Buffer.”
Congratulations to Karissa Tran for receiving a Scholar Award from the Society for Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine
Karissa Tran (Health Area) received a Scholar Award from the Society for Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine for her poster titled “HIV-related shame and alcohol use among men who have sex with men: The mediating role of posttraumatic stress symptoms related to being recently diagnosed with HIV.”
Congratulations to Haley Wang for being quoted in a New York Times article
Haley Wang (Clinical Area) was quoted in a New York Times article titled “How Bad Are A.I. Delusions? We Asked People Treating Them.” The article is available at https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/us/chatgpt-delusions-psychosis.html?unlocked_article_code=1.HVA.OTAL.5yUw4lKRQkTD&smid=url-share
Congratulations to Naomi Gancz for receiving a National Institute of Mental Health F31 fellowship grant titled
Naomi Gancz (Developmental Area) received a National Institute of Mental Health F31 fellowship grant titled “Oral Microbiome Dysregulation as a Contributor to Depressive Symptoms and Altered Brain Connectivity in a High-Risk Sample of Youth,” with Associate Professor Bridget Callaghan as sponsor.
Congratulations to Glen Spiteri (Cognitive Area) for being featured in a UCLA Newsroom article
Glen Spiteri (Cognitive Area) was featured in a UCLA Newsroom article titled “A connection forged by language.” The article is available at https://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/connection-forged-by-language-maltese
Congratulations to Sydney Tran for being awarded a Clara Mayo Grant from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues
Sydney Tran (Social Area) was awarded a Clara Mayo Grant from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues for her project titled “Asian Americans, their racial position, and their view of intergroup relations.” The grant program was set up to support masters’ theses or pre-dissertation research on aspects of sexism, racism, or prejudice.
Congratulations to Glen Spiteri for being awarded a Humane Studies Fellowship
Glen Spiteri (Cognitive Area) was awarded a Humane Studies Fellowship from the Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University for his project titled “A computational theory of moral circle expansion and contraction.”
Erin Morrow (Cognitive Area) was quoted in a New York Times article
Erin Morrow (Cognitive Area) was quoted in a New York Times article titled “To Protest Budget Cuts, Young Scientists Try Letters to the Editor.” The article is available at https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/16/science/science-budget-cuts-protest-letters.html?smid=url-share
Congratulations to Fran Querdasi (Developmental Area) for receiving the 2025 Millard Madsen Distinguished Dissertation Award for the best developmental dissertation
Congratulations to Fran Querdasi (Developmental Area) for receiving the 2025 Millard Madsen Distinguished Dissertation Award for the best developmental dissertation. Fran’s dissertation is titled “Early Caregiving Adversity and Internalizing Symptoms in Middle Childhood to Adolescence: Gut Microbiome and Inflammatory Mechanisms,” and her dissertation committee chair is Bridget Callaghan.
Congratulations to Kaitlin McManus (Clinical Area) for being selected by the Pritzker Committee for Excellence to receive the sixth annual Pritzker Graduate Scholar Award
Congratulations to Kaitlin McManus (Clinical Area) for being selected by the Pritzker Committee for Excellence to receive the sixth annual Pritzker Graduate Scholar Award. The Pritzker Graduate Scholar Award is intended to support graduate students in the Department of Psychology who demonstrate excellence in the conduct of psychological science with the potential for high public impact.
Congratulations to Shiba Esfand (Clinical Area) and Julia Fischer (incoming Quant Area) for being selected for the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)
Congratulations to Shiba Esfand (Clinical Area) and Julia Fischer (incoming Quant Area) for being selected for the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). Both Shiba and Julia previously received Honorable Mention accolades and were recently notified that they were selected for the NSF GRFP.
2025 UCLA Psychology Graduate Hooding Ceremony
Congratulations to the 18 participants who participated in the Psychology Graduate Hooding Ceremony! We wish our students much success in their futures!
Congratulations to the graduate students who successfully defended their dissertations during Fall 2024, Winter 2025, and Spring 2025, and those expecting to file in Summer 2025
Congratulations to Xochitl Arlene Smola (Developmental Area) for receiving the 2025 Dena Chertoff Graduate Student Service Award
Congratulations to Xochitl Arlene Smola (Developmental Area) for receiving the 2025 Dena Chertoff Graduate Student Service Award. Established in 2009 to honor Dena Chertoff (who served as Graduate Advisor for 38 years), this departmental award honors graduate students who have made outstanding contributions to the overall well-being of the students, faculty, and staff in the department.
Congratulations to Molly Smith (Social Area) for receiving the Harold H. Kelley Award
Congratulations to Molly Smith (Social Area) for receiving the Harold H. Kelley Award for her paper titled “Can Generative AI Chatbots Emulate Human Connection? A Relationship Science Perspective.” This award has been given since 1997 and honors an exceptionally meritorious research paper addressing basic issues or theory in social psychology.
Congratulations to Ryan Sabillo (Social Area) for receiving the Shelley Taylor Dissertation Award
Congratulations to Ryan Sabillo (Social Area) for receiving the Shelley Taylor Dissertation Award for his dissertation titled “Blurring Boundaries: A Social Categorization Approach to Facilitate Tolerance Toward Diversity.” This award has been given since 2013 and honors an exceptionally meritorious dissertation completed by a graduate student whose primary advisor is in the Social Area.
Congratulations to Kasheena Rogbeer (Social Area) for receiving the Bertram Raven Award
Congratulations to Kasheena Rogbeer (Social Area) for receiving the Bertram Raven Award for her paper titled “Is Unity Durable Among People of Color? Two Large Experiments Stress-Testing Solidarity Between Black and Latino Americans.” This award has been given since 1997 and honors an exceptionally meritorious research paper addressing a social issue or problem.
Congratulations to Gabrielle Rinne (Health Area) for receiving the 2025 Joseph A. Gengerelli Distinguished Dissertation Award!
Congratulations to Gabrielle Rinne (Health Area) for receiving the 2025 Joseph A. Gengerelli Distinguished Dissertation Award for having the most outstanding dissertation in our department this year. This award honors Professor Gengerelli, who is remembered for his teaching, guidance of students, innovative research, and departmental leadership.